Alas, Babylon
by ShamrockNinny
Summary: In a world where Rick left early on, Earth was over run by aliens and now exists in a post-apocalyptic state. Fifteen year old Summer Smith and her brother Morty struggle to survive until a Rick sent by the Citadel of Ricks shows up on a mission which involves the two of them.
1. Chapter 1

**Alas, Babylon**

* * *

Summary: In a world where Rick left early on, Earth was over run by aliens and now exists in a post-apocalyptic state. Fifteen year old Summer Smith and her brother Morty struggle to survive until a Rick sent by the Citadel of Ricks shows up on a mission which involves the two of them.

A/N: WIP (work in progress), intend on it to be rather lengthy. I'm all about that fluff.

Warnings: Rated T for violence mainly, maybe a bit of cussing but not much, there will be no explicit material.

* * *

Summer Smith held the gun up, running a hand along the barrel and then beginning to dismantle it. Summer was fifteen, she had brilliant red hair and had lost count of the number of people she had killed in the last few years since the Verdunkeln. There was the soft, tinny sound of the pieces clinking together and the gentle slide of the parts of the gun against each other. Her hands were rough and callused, scars running over a lot of her body. Beauty was foreign, forgotten from the time she was eleven and still wore pink princess dresses for tea time with her dolls.

Summer looked across the room to where her little brother was curled up on a ratty old blanket, eyes closed and soft, breathy exhales and inhales making his chest rise and fall. He was twelve, but still so small, unbelievably thin and still smaller than Summer had been when this whole thing had happened.

It was just Summer and Morty, ever since her parents had been gunned down by a terrifying group of aliens. Now the world was overrun by lawless creatures and desperate humans. Summer had learned real fast that the best way to talk was with a gun. Summer finished cleaning the gun, quickly putting it back together. She slid off the table she had been sitting on and looked out the window of the abandoned house they were squatting in. The streets outside were dark and littered with debris. They were in a suburb several miles outside of L.A., Summer had been trying to get them to some camp which was supposed to be safe for humans.

Moving from the window, Summer headed over to where Morty was asleep. Laying down, she hugged her brother to her, the gun nestled in one hand and the other curled around Morty.

* * *

Rick didn't consider himself the smartest Rick in the multi-verse, however he was willing to claim the name of most sensible. So really, it could be said he made the smartest decisions, at least when it came to self-preservation. For one, he didn't drink, probably one of the few Ricks who didn't. Rick PL-1109 also didn't use any substance to alter his mind, nothing. As such, he usually got stuck with the worst missions from the citadel. Due to his level headed thinking, he had never met Diane, let alone married and had a kid. He had no Morty, and had never felt much of an affinity for Mortys, they were a lazy Rick's last resort, a stupid Rick's need. He could cloak his own mental signature, thank you very much.

Rick glared down at the paper in his hand, it was another order from the Citadel, one which would bring him to an Earth where aliens had come and fucked the whole place over. Now it was a mere blip on the highway of the galaxies, a place bad aliens went to hide away from the federation.

Rick glared a little longer at the paper, as if that would help it to disappear and never be put in his hand. Still, the Citadel gave him everything he needed and supplied him with a place to stay, all in all it wasn't a terrible trade off.

Rick took the paper and pulled out his portal gun, the paper had a code on it which would program his portal gun and carry his directive on it. He didn't get to know exactly what he was doing until the moment up to it, some Rick in a high place obviously had some sort of paranoid streak, more than the average Rick.

He glanced at the time, he had time to go now, hopefully this wouldn't take more than a few hours. Without a thought, he opened a portal and stepped through, not knowing that everything he knew was about to change.

* * *

"Wake up, Morty."

Summer gently pushed at her brother's shoulder and Morty's eyes instantly flew open, a small smile graced his face and the tiny twelve year old sat up from the pile of blankets he'd been sleeping on.

Summer smiled back, she'd woken up earlier than him, preparing everything for them to start on their trek toward the heart of L.A., where the supposed camp was at.

"You sleep alright, Morty?"

It seemed a silly sentiment, all but lost in the cacophony of their life and the absolute absence of happiness or security. They experienced death on a regular basis, alongside hunger and many other sorts of pains, having a good sleep seemed obsolete, unimportant. But for Morty and Summer it was like making sure the other was okay, that both were alive.

Morty smiled and gave a small nod. He didn't talk much, and he really only talked for Summer.

"You?" Morty said quietly.

Summer smiled back, not really giving an honest answer. Neither slept well anymore.

"We're gonna head off in a little bit, try to get to a little farther into the city."

Morty nodded, standing up and folding the blanket, beginning to tuck it into a burlap backpack. They cleared everything up pretty quickly, Summer pulled out one of their last cans and used a small knife she carried with her to cut it open and push back the jagged edges. She handed it to Morty, both cross legged on the floor facing each other. Morty always ate first, Summer made sure of it.

He dutifully ate exactly half of the can, Summer wouldn't let him take less, he'd tried enough times to know.

Handing it over to his sister, Morty then scooted over to Summer and ducked under her arm, settling against her side.

They stayed that way until Summer was done eating, then the two got up and headed outside, beginning to pick their way down the littered street.

It was chill, and damp, the middle of winter in L.A. with temperate weather nipping through their clothes but not dangerous. The heavy overcast sky didn't reveal the sun and the hours passed by with the miles.

Soon enough the suburbs made way for bigger buildings and the remains of commercial and corner stores. It was eerily empty, however there was some signs of life, small scavenging animals passing their view and carrion digging away at various corpses that were scattered sparsely. Usually night time was when most beings were active, the by product of the universe's worst aliens and the few surviving humans who went about to hunt or search for safety.

Morty let out a small sound and Summer stopped. Morty was frozen, eyes focused off to the side where an alleyway was. Summer looked over to it surreptitiously, before suddenly breaking into action. There was the heavy sound of a laser; harsh heavy reports causing Summer's ears to ring as she pulled her brother behind the safety of an abandoned car.

Morty was shaking and Summer already had the gun in her hand. With a quick glance at her brother, Summer rose above the car, her gun ready, she fired a few shots in quick succession before ducking back down where her brother was. She barely heard the high short scream of whoever had attacked them. Morty was looking at her imploringly, implicitly trusting her judgement.

She didn't speak, silence having a tight hold. A few seconds passed, the ambiance from before suddenly back: silent wind whispering in the leaden landscape and gloomy sky above quiet. Summer held Morty's gaze, both tensed, still against the cool metal of the car. She gave a tiny nod and then slowly moved so she could see out at the street and into the entryway of the alley.

A body was on the ground, there was no other movement. Summer stood up carefully, senses heightened as she took in the surroundings. She looked back at Morty, ignoring the plea in his eyes for her to stay. She walked into the street, gun ready, before approaching the alley where the shots had originated from.

In the shadow of the alley her eyes adjusted and she saw the body of an alien, its green blood now spreading over the concrete floor. Summer kicked it. The body lolled, slumping onto its side so wide unseeing eyes stared up into an empty heaven. It was dead.

She trotted back over to Morty and he stood up, relief evident in his face. Words passed without being voiced and they were once again headed down the road.

They made more headway, the buildings growing in height so that their roofs scraped the clouded sky above.

The sound of voices made both of them freeze, moments spent determining in what direction they were coming from. The voices were raucous cries, plentiful and earsplitting, not with terror but with savage enjoyment. Summer gripped Morty's hand and they began running. A bright purple creature jumped in front of them, partially clothed and obviously an alien, it had inhuman speed. Summer faltered and yanked Morty in another direction.

More aliens came, a few humans spread among them. The jeering cries grew more pronounced, subjectively honing in on the two. Soon they were surrounded by a crowd of monsters, all hissing out in foreign languages and the few English speaking humans shouting things which made the two terrified.

One stepped forward, a tall amfiddian.

He shouted something out and an alien stepped forward, roughly grabbing Morty, Summer screamed flashing her gun so that the alien quickly backed away. The amfiddian considered her for a moment.

"Put gun down, girly."

Summer shook her head, wielding her only line of defense wildly as she clutched her little brother to her.

The amfiddian opened his mouth then shut it, angrily shaking his head. He jerked a hand harshly at the group, shouting something out. A human stepped forward, a huge man covered in hair and with sharp blue eyes.

The amfiddian spoke again and the man turned to Summer.

"He says you should put the gun down."

Summer shook her head, mouth trembling.

The amfiddian spoke again and the man translated.

"You're outnumbered little girl, if you use your gun we will make the end for the tiny one very very painful."

Summer seemed to hesitate, gun faltering for just a moment.

The amfiddian spoke again.

"We will give him a painless death, there is much we can inflict on him. Make only one suffer."

The human man's eyes were pitiless and blank.

Morty shook his head furiously, clutching to his sister and brown creasing in distress. Summer however was considering the offer, gun beginning to fall.

* * *

The portal let out in the ruins of a city. Rick blinked, he vaguely recalled this place. He didn't have time to think about it though, the coordinates had brought him to the center of a group of aliens, two people in the center of it and obviously at odds with the huge group of vicious looking aliens. He had two thoughts run through his head, one, he was pretty sure he had gotten a killer donut from that broken down store over there at one point and second, he was totally screwed.

* * *

Quick note, this obviously isn't about the canon Rick, Rick-137, or his Morty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alas, Babylon**

* * *

A/N: WIP. Thanks to everyone who has taken an interest in my story! I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Warnings: Nothing squicky, a little bit of language (nothing you wouldn't hear in the show), and some show level violence. No beta, grammatical indecencies abound.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

There was a moment of inertia, everything frozen before the aliens surged forward toward Rick. He had his gun out in a split second, already shooting down the first few aliens that threw themselves at him.

Summer, sharp and having learned to respond immediately to a situation, used the old spiky haired man's entrance to yank Morty toward one of the buildings and away from the group of aliens.

Rick was overrun and he was side swiped by a huge Gronglokian. He fell to the concrete and felt something break. Not stopping to think about it he pulled out a horizontal laser bomb and threw it into the air. Anything three feet above him in a twenty foot radius just got cut in half. A rainbow assortment of blood and bodies fell to the ground, everything startlingly still. There were a few aliens on the outskirts of the group still alive, but now they ran off.

"That's right, bastards, run while you still can!"

Rick stood up, now drenched in the sticky blood from different aliens; green, red, purple, and yellow blood coating him. There was a high pitched cry of pain and an angry scream.

Rick remembered why he had been sent here in the first place, his mission for the Citadel. If that involved bringing back a living creature he was screwed. He ran to where the commotion was, not hesitating to shoot the Korblockian which held a scrawny little boy in it's hands while a teenage girl stood with a gun pointed at the alien.

The alien let out a strangled cry and slumped to the ground sideways, the little boy tumbling to the ground.

Summer had made it to a side street, desperately dragging her brother with her in an attempt to get away, when she had fallen to the ground as something pulled Morty away from her with an amazing show of strength.

A large yellow alien, similar in shape to an upright slug and with frond like feelers and huge eyes was holding Morty with both its hands, causing Morty to dangle above the ground. Summer was immediately on her feet, the gun pointed at the alien.

"Let him go!" She screamed.

The alien let out a strange sounding cry that meant nothing to Summer. She waved the gun threateningly, wary to shoot even when the alien was so much bigger than Morty and she would have a relatively clear shot.

"Drop him!" She screamed louder, waving the gun more emphatically.

The alien screamed again and then squeezed Morty, causing her brother to let out a horrible cry of pain. Morty screamed more and then suddenly fell slack. Summer was about to fire when the Korblockian pitched sideways, a death cry sounding from its mouth and Morty falling to the ground.

Summer aimed the gun then at the old, spiky haired man who was standing behind the alien, a gun in his hand.

A few moments passed and the old man began fumbling with a bag slung around his shoulders.

"Don't move!" Summer yelled.

The man froze, staring up at her with an annoyed look on his face. He glared for a moment, eyes narrowing, judging and measuring her. Slowly, he raised his hands.

"I just saved you, kid, I'm not going to hurt you."

Summer didn't move, but her eyes were going between the unmoving form of her brother and the old man. There was a tense impasse, Summer with the gun trained on the old man and Rick with his hands in the air.

Then Summer dropped the gun to her side and rushed over to Morty. She rolled him over and immediately let out a horrified gasp. Her brother's breathing was ragged and obviously impeded by internal damage. He was unconscious but his skin was pale and clammy.

"Morty!" Summer cried ineffectually, hands shaking.

"He probably had his ribs crushed, no doubt something pierced his lung. He's got a couple of minutes probably before he'll start breathing more blood than air. Then he'll die."

Summer looked up in anger, desperation and terror at the man. He was standing there as if her little brother wasn't dying, a hand digging through his bag again. Summer felt tears come to her eyes, clutching the small body to her. She heard a curse and the man said something which she didn't listen to. Morty was dying, she'd let him down, let the only thing worth living for die.

Summer began sobbing, pulling Morty up so she could bury her face in his hair. She could feel his body trembling in her arms, breaths now raspy and wet. Something wet and warm stained her shirt front and she realized with ever growing grief that it was blood.

"Here, move kid, I got something to help him."

Summer was roughly shoved back. She could only stare in shock from where she was on the ground as the old man took Morty and injected him with something. Seconds passed and Morty's breathing evened out, skin gaining a little color. Her tears dried and her mouth fell open as Morty's eyes blinked open.

She scrambled to Morty's side, hugging him tightly. Morty still seemed to be recovering and responded by weakly patting his sister's side.

Rick hadn't been pleased, he'd come into the street, bleeding heart that he was, and saved the brats' lives. Having a gun pointed at him wasn't the kind of thank you he'd been looking for. Then, he'd discovered that his portal gun was broken, an important plastic based ligament having snapped and part of the outer frame bent. It wouldn't be a hard fix if he had the replacement ligament, but he didn't.

Then the girl had started crying, clutching at the little boy. In a crass, offensive way, much like most Rick's, he'd been disgusted, crying got you nowhere in these kind of situations. Crocodile tears were the way to go but there was no one to cry to. Also though, he'd felt pity and empathy. So he'd fixed the kid.

Sighing frustratedly he eyed the two kids. They were both thin and dirty, scarred and obviously had no one. Rick blinked, mentally shaking himself. Caring about other people wasn't good for a Rick's self-preservation. There was something though about the boy which pinged in Rick's mind, a familiarity which made his gut tense when he couldn't place why the boy was familiar.

What to do now though, the girl was still hugging the boy. The portal gun had been programmed by the Citadel, taking him out where his mission was to be accomplished. It had let out right next to these two kids. There was nothing to tell Rick that his mission had died back in the group of aliens, or that his mission had nothing to do with anyone at all but rather was to gather materials. However something in his gut and mind told him that these kids had something to do with the Citadel mission. Not only that, but now that he had found the kids they were partially his responsibility, the least he could do is get them to someone who would take care of them.

Rick sighed, another thing that marked him as a different kind of Rick was his lasting sense of humanity, not that there weren't other Ricks with the same issue as him.

"Look, kid-" Rick paused as the tearful face of the red head peered up, eyes hardening.

"Who are you?" Summer bit out.

Rick looked sharply at her.

"Rick Sanchez, of dimension PL-1109. I'm from the Citadel of Ricks."

Summer narrowed her eyes, somehow appearing angry and intimidating despite the red puffiness from crying, one hand already tightening around the gun.

"I'm Summer Smith."

Rick blinked, the name seemed familiar. But the thought passed as the bright, wide eyes of the boy peered from behind his sister's arm.

"This is Morty."

Rick raised a brow as the boy kept his mouth shut.

"What we're doing is none of your business."

The name clicked, Morty and Summer Smith, the grandchildren of Rick, or technically the grandchildren of this dimensions Rick. What the hell were they doing by themselves? All Morty's were supposed to be registered with the Citadel, unless of course the Rick had died or didn't meet the I.Q. requirements of the Citadel. Even then though, the Citadel would usually ensure the safety or relative well being of Mortys throughout the dimensions.

Rick stared down at his hypothetical grandchildren. They were so young and small.

"What's a Citadel?"

Rick looked over at the tiny voice that was coming from the boy.

"I work there, they have a lot of information about different places."

Summer perked up at that, and then Rick found the gun in his slack hand ripped from him and now being held by the teenage girl, the muzzle pointed at his chest.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Rick muttered.

"You're going to take us to a camp, a camp with humans, and you're going to make sure we stay alive."

Rick rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. He threw his hands into the air, even though he was pretty sure he could disarm the teenage girl.

"Step back."

Rick took a step back. The boy had the other gun in his hand and was pointing it with an alarmingly steady hand at Rick. Maybe he wouldn't be able to get out of this as easy as he was thinking.

"I saved your asses, you little shits!"

Summer looked unremorseful and the boy was still looking at him with those wide, solemn eyes. Rick muttered a few more curses under his breath, closing his eyes in frustration before opening them again.

"Just take us to the camp, if you have a lot of information you'll know where it is and can get us there."

Rick glared at the girl.

"I broke the device which would tell me how to help save your worthless lives."

Summer frowned, obviously trying to gauge exactly how honest Rick was being.

"Here," Rick said, "let me show you."

Summer gave a small, slow nod and Rick proceeded to slowly pull his portal gun out and then throw it on the ground.

"It's broken, you want me to get you to some stupid camp, I gotta fix that first, alright?"

Summer looked at Rick and the gun before looking over at Morty and then giving him a small nod. Morty went forward and picked the portal gun up.

"See?" Rick said as if he were talking to a child, "it's broken."

Summer sent him a hostile look in response to the derogatory tone. Morty gave a tiny nod and held the gun up for Summer to see the bent frame and partially secured panelling.

"Alright, well, fix this, then take us to the camp."

Rick let out an annoyed sigh, "it's not that easy, _kid_ , I don't have the parts to replace it."

Rick almost felt bad when he saw the brief flash of despair flit across the girl's face. Served the little shits right though for fucking with him. It was a good thing that they were stupid and that Rick was telling the truth, for the most part.

"I know where to get something to fix it temporarily-"

Summer cut him off sharply, "how?"

Rick let out a huff of breath, "I'm getting to that," and sent her a pointed look.

"Anyway," he began again, "once it's fixed I can take you to your stupid camp."

"How come you know where to get your thing fixed but you don't know where a major base of civilization is? Seems like if you were coming to a world you'd want that kind of information."

Rick never tired of suspicion, and the girl was practically oozing it.

"Look, Summer, I don't have to explain myself to you, either you trust me on this and you get you and your brother to a stupid camp or you don't trust me and you keep wandering until you end up raped, tortured, killed and eaten by whatever the fuck you encounter out here."

The girl seemed to react strangely to the use of her name, almost as if she didn't quite recognize it, by the end of his sentence though her gaze had already hardened. There were a few long seconds.

"Fine," she bit out.

Rick smiled a sickly fake smile which neither of the children returned.

"Alright, well, lead the way," Summer said, waving the gun.

Rick let out a scoff and rolled his eyes again.

"You two are a couple pieces of work, arentcha?"

Summer sent him a withering look and Rick shook his head, continuing to walk in a direction. As they plodded along, Summer at the back with the boy next to her-both guns trained on Rick- and Rick in front, Rick thought about the ridiculousness of his situation.

In all honesty he didn't know where the camp was, the only reason he had an inkling of an idea where parts would be was because he was a Rick and he was pretty sure he knew where a Rick-or this Rick specifically- would hide a base with items and such. The only thing he'd lied about was taking them to the camp as their fucking prisoner. Rick was only going to let some little girl lord over him for as long as necessary. Until then though, Rick glanced back at the tiny boy and his sister with their loaded guns, he would play along.

* * *

Thanks for reading! My alter-ego is spotty updater, keep your expectations as low as a pair o' saggy pants.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alas, Babylon**

* * *

Warnings: Grammatical indecencies abound. Also, I have little to no knowledge of sinkholes.

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Rick was growing bored, they had been trudging along for the last several hours, Rick with his hands tied tightly behind his back. It was humiliating to be at the mercy of a couple of children, but he hadn't really been able to argue as Summer had stopped several minutes into their march to wrap his wrists together with a piece of rope she pulled from the backpack Morty was carrying.

She had done it silently, not answering his sarcastic remark about S&M, instead she had given him a rather blank look. He realized dully that she probably didn't know what that even was.

"So, are you just gonna have my hands tied up all day?"

Rick looked ahead at the redhead who was leading them in the direction Rick had indicated to be where he thought his stuff would be. Summer didn't respond. Rick let out an annoyed huff of air, these kids were a pair of tightwads. He then glanced at the small boy behind him. The kid still had the gun firmly in his grasp.

When the answer didn't come and after Rick, usually taciturn for a Rick, had tried his best to get an answer out of the kids he gave up. Nearly an hour later they came upon a huge sinkhole which had drug down the entire center of the street, barely skirting the buildings. Summer halted, and stood contemplating the way.

They could back track and lose several hours, as one street was barricaded and there weren't any other through ways close by. Tromping through unlit buildings wasn't safe, who knew what alien or person was lurking in the dark, waiting for the light of day or the unsuspecting victim to walk through. That or some bastard from before had left traps behind.

Rick was uneasy, watching the girl weigh the dangers of their course; to get to the other side would involve creeping along three to ten inch ledges which were sided by a gaping abyss and a straight brick wall.

Summer turned, looking at her brother.

"We're gonna head across."

"Look kid," Rick cut in, wanting to stop this dangerous attempt before it got started, "That doesn't look safe."

Summer wasn't listening, already pressing forward. A gun pressed into Rick's back, held by the boy. Rick muttered under his breath, cursing his luck.

"Aren't you at least going to untie my hands?"

There was no answer. All three began creeping their way along the edge. Rick looked down at the dizzying height, head spinning. His hands were bound behind him still, making it incredibly difficult to balance on the tiny ledge. Morty wasn't pushing him though, pausing as Rick tried to put foot in front of foot and leaned heavily against the rough brick wall of the building for stability.

They were almost to the other side, Summer having already made it safely over, when Rick heard the sound of the ledge crumbling. He thought for a heart stopping moment that it was the part he was standing on, but then he heard Morty's terrified gasp.

Rick's head whipped to the side, watching as Morty began to fall, hands scrambling to get a hold of the wall. Rick slipped his hands out of his bonds, having loosened them earlier, and reached out, grabbing a hold of Morty's shirt before the kid was going to fall. This unbalanced him and he had to reach out, grabbing a sharp jutting piece of metal protruding from the wall above him. He clenched his teeth as it bit into his skin. The boy was staring up in terror at him.

Rick concentrated, feeling the ledge he was precariously standing on begin to crumble partially. He could just let the kid go, get out of here and report the mission as a fail. The Citadel would grumble and he'd have to do some grunt work for a while, but compared to being ordered around by children and falling to his death it didn't sound so bad.

Rick clenched his hand which was wrapped around the metal protuberance and began to slowly lift Morty up. It was painful, despite how small the kid was. Rick's arm shook with the effort, dark nauseating abyss below him looming threateningly. With one final heft, he placed Morty on the ledge and the boy scrambled the few feet left and threw himself at his sister. Rick slowly unclenched his hand from around the metal, it's sharp edges leaving a deep laceration, causing his hand to bleed. Stiffly, he followed after Morty, coming to the other side.

Rick was breathing heavily, heart slowing. He looked over at the two.

"I told you, I wasn't going to hurt you. I saved your pathetic asses instead."

Morty was staring at Rick, eyes holding a shine of hero worship. Summer looked less convinced, but she seemed grateful.

"Why?" She asked shortly, eyes severe and piercing as she gazed at Rick.

Rick frowned.

"'Cause you're kids, what kind of douche lets a couple of kids get hurt?"

Summer stared in confusion at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"But no one's-" She broke off and her face turned angry.

Summer turned away, collecting herself. These kids really had been on their own. Rick raised a brow as Morty approached him with a small smile, a bandage in his hand and Rick's bag outstretched. Rick took his bag and was about to take the bandage when he was surprised by Morty coming forward and grabbing his injured hand gently.

Rick was shocked, so shocked he made no move to stop the kid. Morty rinsed his hand off and then pulled out a small bottle which Rick knew the kid had gotten from his bag. It was a mild healing formula. Rick could only watch blankly as Morty gently applied it, causing his skin to meld back together so all that showed was a thin red line. Rick was mildly surprised that the kid had been smart enough to figure out what the bottle was.

When Morty was finished he looked up at Rick with a small smile. Rick let a tiny smile show back.

"We should get going," Summer said gruffly.

Her gaze narrowed in on the bag which was now slung across Rick's shoulders.

"He can't have that."

Rick watched in interest as the boy's face scrunched up a little, looking as though he wanted to argue.

"We're going to tie him back up and keep ahold of his bag."

Rick heard Morty speak for the first time.

"H-he's not dangerous," Morty said quietly.

"That's not-" Summer threw her hands in the air.

"This isn't about that Morty, I'm trying to keep us," Summer stuttered again, looking in pained frustration at Rick and then looking back at Morty continued, "I'm trying to keep us safe, Morty. He's not-"

Summer pointed accusingly at Rick.

"He's not safe!"

It was quiet for a few moments. Before Morty spoke,

"I trust him."

Rick swallowed hard, his throat tightening at the small, quiet statement. He clenched his teeth and stared at the ground, trying to keep his eyes from watering. He hadn't ever had someone talk about him with that kind of tone, saying something like that.

Emotions flickered across Summer's face, before it settled in a neutral calm.

"Fine, he can have his bag. And he can be untied."

Morty smiled happily and Summer glared at Rick.

They continued on, their situation completely changed. Rick now had his hands free, his bag with him and Morty skipping by his side in silence.

They kept going, only stopping when the sun began to sink below the horizon. Summer lead them to one of the buildings, carefully and slowly making her way through the apartment complex, clearing it. They ended up picking one of the apartments on street level, a huge bay window broken out and letting the wind whip through in the front of the living room. They stayed there, huddled on the floor.

Rick watched in interest as they settled, Summer pulling out a can and mechanically prying it open before passing it to her brother. Morty took it, paused a moment and then handed it to Rick.

Rick again was surprised, he hadn't planned on being fed by these children. Graciously he accepted it, beginning on eating it. He'd seen the girl, how much she could carry, and she probably didn't have many cans left. He ate sparingly, handing the can back to Morty who promptly eyed the amount left and ate half. He handed it to Summer who ate the rest.

"So, how'd you two come to be by yourselves anyway?"

Summer glared at him. Her brown eyed gaze of terror was starting to lose its effect. Rick looked to Morty. Morty however had his eyes cast to the ground, shoulders hunched up.

"Well, I don't remember much, but one day a bunch of aliens came. It sounds stupid like that, but I was eleven. It's what I remember."

Summer blinked, eyes glazing over before she stared at the ground.

"I was in my bedroom and Mom came racing in with Morty in her arms, he was eight but he was still so small, just like he is now. She told him to stay there and for me to stay in my room. She left. After a few minutes I heard the laser shots and Mom came back in. She grabbed Morty and I and took us out the window. We traveled a little while on foot before I even saw any aliens. When we did meet some, there were two, they shot and killed Mom. I managed to get a gun and kill them. Ever since then, me and Morty have been on our own, trying to find someplace safe to stay."

Rick was quiet. Morty had in the meantime, curled up next to his sister, head on her thigh and eyes staring blankly at the wall. He had more questions, but they were mostly unnecessary as he could guess the answers to most of them accurately. Besides, the events which had lead up to this were now irrelevant, figments of their past which couldn't be mended or taken away.

Summer let out a quick sigh and leaned so her arm was looped around Morty.

"So," Summer started, voice sharp, "that's why you're taking us to fix your gun and then using it to help us find somewhere safe."

"Kid," Rick started immediately, before his voice choked up, unable to think of anything which he could counter that with.

It wasn't new to Rick, death and misery, but he didn't often come face to face with living breathing aftermaths like these two. Most were the dead faces of people he could never bring back. For a Rick, he was unusually reclusive. So many dead faces and you stopped wanting to see any face other than your own.

"So, what does your gun do anyway?"

Rick looked up in surprise at the sudden change in subject.

"A lot of stuff, it's really powerful. It would take too long to explain it all to you."

Summer let out a soft scoff of disbelief, "Whatever, as long as it gets us home."

A sound came in from the broken window, a soft shushing of something against the ground. All three stared out the window, frozen in the rapture of alarm. There wasn't any sound, no further evidence of whatever danger could be lurking outside.

"Probably just a bird," Summer mumbled, but she kept looking out the window into the dark street.

Rick nodded his agreement despite his own misgivings.

It was quiet after that, Summer's gaze resting on him. Rick watched Summer watch him, until her head nodded and she fell asleep; the two children slumped together. They looked so small in sleep, especially Summer, all her bravado and grim determination gone in the face of rest. Rick watched them sleep, standing at different times to look outside for danger.

Early morning came and Rick was surprised by Summer jerking awake, eyes trailing nervously around the room in feverish fear. Morty was fast asleep still. Rick crouched next to her, a hand on her shoulder.

"You're here, Summer. You're here with Morty. You're safe."

Summer's head trembled as she shook her head 'no', tears pouring out her eyes. Her gaze was still far off.

"We're never safe," Summer said.

Rick breathed softly.

"You're safe with me, Summer. I'll make sure you don't get hurt. I promise."

He gripped her shoulder in a gentle hold, giving a tiny shake. Summer gave a nod of assent and her eyes cleared, fluttering, glancing up at Rick and then turning to the floor in shame and the overpowering effect of whatever she had seen in her sleep.

Rick stayed silent, leaning back to keep watch until the early dawn touched the sky, rays lost in the gray mire of clouds overhead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alas, Babylon**

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Chapter 4

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Several minutes after sunrise, Summer woke up, this time coherent. She gently shook Morty awake and stood up. A quick glance around the room showed that Rick was nowhere nearby and all of his things were gone.

"He left," Summer stated monotonically, as if she had anticipated it all along.

Morty frowned, "He left?"

Summer didn't respond, beginning to roll up the blanket the two had used. Morty looked more than crestfallen, eyes gazing sightlessly at his sister, disconsolate features scrunched up.

Summer continued rolling the blanket, now working on shoving it into the bag.

"He-he wouldn't," Morty whispered.

Summer glared at the bag, pushing angrily at the material.

"What would you know, Morty? We just met him, he's just some low life, heartless, depraved old man who doesn't give a shit about us just like everybody else. He-"

"Is devastatingly handsome? I already know that, Summer, no need to compliment me further."

Both the kids startled at the sudden interruption. Summer flushed in embarrassment, looking up at Rick. Morty was silently grinning.

"In fact, I'm so fucking awesome, I dug us up some grub! Wibbledy wibbledy great, amirite?!"

Summer stayed frozen on the floor and Morty rushed forward to see what Rick had in his arms. On closer inspection they saw fresh red strawberries, uncooked potatoes and fresh green beans. Both of the children stared in shock, neither had seen fresh produce in years, let alone produce so green.

"Ho-how did-where did you get that?" Summer spluttered.

Rick grinned in a self-satisfied way.

"I found some materials, fiddled around for a little bit and whipped together a particle replicator, it took a little bit, but I was able to use some of the shit in the basement here. Strawberry jam, I think, I mean I was able to make strawberries, potatoes from a really old chip bag aaaaannd, green beans from some old seed packets tucked away down there."

Rick went over to the fireplace in the wall, it was a newer one (new for when they were being made) and was designed for artificial flames. He promptly began to rip the appliances inside the fireplace out. Once it was cleared, he took some wood that had been splintered from the table and began to build a fire.

"Idiots who lived here before musta, musta been some real mormon, end of the world, apocalypse shit people, didn't do them much good though, huh? Grab me a pot from the kitchen, Morty."

Morty complied, heading to the sink area and rummaging in the dilapidated remains. He returned to Rick with a dusty pot and handed it to him. Rick frowned at it and then tossed it aside.

"How, what do you mean, a particle replicator?" Morty asked quietly, eyes filled with awe and wonder.

Rick soaked it up, he was starting to understand why most Ricks wanted a Morty. Nothing beat hero worship. Rick looked furtively at Summer. The girl was on the floor, the bag and pillow still in hand, and staring in a strange mixture of shock, anger, and confusion at Rick.

"Strawberries are good," Rick said, grabbing one of the bright red gems and offering it to her.

Summer's brow raised, her mouth still parted slightly from the surprise. Rick shook his hand, waving the strawberry around.

"Go on, it's not gonna bite."

A moments later of hesitation and Summer grabbed the strawberry. She stared down at the red berry, studying the tiny small bumping seeds and the variegated short black hairs along it. It was surreal: the color, the smell-like garden sharp plants-, the texture pressing into her fingers. It brought back memories, distant and sharp yet faded. Tiny moments and senses coming back: her mother's high clear laugh greeting her ears and the start of out-of-tune singing, candles and the soft scent of smoke, a birthday cake-sponge cake decorated amateurly in light white frosting and gilded with bright slices of strawberry.

"You can eat it, you know, it's not poisoned," Rick was looking curiously at her, so was Morty, her brother already having eaten a strawberry, the stem in his hand.

Summer nodded and took a bite. It was as she remembered, nearly better with the absence of tasting it. Summer smiled despite herself and looked gratefully at Rick. She moved over to the fireplace, the fire having died down and among the coals blackening potatoes and green beans.

The food cooked soon enough, and Rick laughed in surprise when the two children set into it like it was the last supper. He was about to reprimand them, tell them to take it easy, but he stopped, his lighthearted joking dying under the somber thought of why they ate like that, eyes taking in the thin bodies of the two.

He ducked his head, peering down at his own food. It wasn't that he took food for granted, he was a Rick, he had experience, but it was hard sometimes to pair reality with the past and with the way he hoped things were like. Ricks were ostriches, sticking their heads in the sand because they'd seen so much more than any other being and hadn't been able to handle it or come up with a way to reconcile moral proclivity with the actual multiverse.

But he was here, in the the now and present, with these kids, and he figured he may as well give a fuck.

They finished eating and left all the remains where they were, Rick taking only a few moments to stamp out the fire.

"That was amazing!" Morty sighed, patting his stomach with a look of blissful satisfaction on his face.

Summer smiled slightly and shrugged, "yeah, it was okay."

"Okay!?" Rick yelled, turning to look at her incredulously as all three made their way out onto the street.

"I bust my ass to bring you real food that hasn't been in a can for a year, and that's what I get, it's okay?!"

Summer shrugged again.

"Like I said, it was okay," she repeated, hiding her grin.

Rick looked decidedly upset, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well, guess next time I'll just share with Morty."

The sun had risen an inch over the horizon and the cool morning was being penetrated by the warmth of the sunlight. They began heading down the street, all abreast of each other and continuing in their ribbing.

"Yeah, and Morty'll share with me," Summer countered.

"You're a little shit, you know that, right?" Rick said, glaring at the red headed fifteen year old.

Summer turned to show him her grin and he just shook his head, muttering about ungrateful brats. Morty bounced along between the two, a steady pace being set. Silence set in and the three welcomed it. Today there were no clouds, though the weather stayed moderate enough. A few hours passed and Rick knew that they were getting close to where he believed that he would find one of this Rick's stash.

They approached a McDonalds, one large yellow arch still standing while the other had fallen over. Rick approached it, pushing the door, the glass crunching loudly underfoot. It was empty, the booths and table trashed and the remains littering the floor. Morty was right behind, with Summer making up the back. The wind whistled hollowly through the cracked glass of the windows while the stiff scent of cheap oil still lingered from the countless hours spent cooking in the building.

When no threat seemed to appear, Rick moved forward, headed toward an old piano that was fixed by the entrance wall. It had several missing keys and was a by passed advertising ploy. Rick began to try to shove it away from the wall, fingers wedged at the corner, so that he managed to create an inch or two of space. He stepped back though when the piano groaned but didn't budge further. The two children just stood back, watching him with incredulous faces.

Heading toward the serving counter, he hopped over it and grabbed a metal pole that was leaning against a wall in the back of the kitchen. He came back and used it to pry the piano away from the wall. The piano slowly gave up another few feet of space and then Summer and Morty came forward, pushing the piano up against the other wall.

Rick grinned in satisfaction, letting the metal pole drop from his hands and clang against the floor.

"What is that?" Summer said, frowning at a place in the wall which was discolored from being plastered over.

"That," Rick said, pulling a small knife from his bag and cutting away the plaster,

"Is this dimension's Rick's hideyhole."

The section of the wall came off, dust floating down as Rick took it. He threw it to the side and stepped back over to pull something out.

Glass exploded around them and all three dropped to the floor as the laser shot sounded out. Rick let out a loud curse as he looked up to see ten or so aliens converging on the McDonald's, guns in hand.

"Shit, kids! You alright?" He looked over to Morty and Summer.

Morty was trembling but Summer managed a small nod, the only injuries were where glass was now embedded in their arms and hands.

"Get to the kitchen, we'll try to go out the pick up window."

Summer gave another nod and Rick was pleased to see that she had her own gun in hand. Another shot rang out and more glass rained down on them.

"Go! Go! Go!" Rick yelled jumping to his feet and letting shots off.

There were some screams from the aliens and return fire. Summer seized Morty's hand and yanked him towards the counter, both of them hurtling over it and into the kitchen. Rick backed up, keeping his eyes on the aliens. One jumped through a broken window and he shot it, causing the purple body to collapse across the window frame. Taking another series of pot shots, Rick hurtled over the counter. Summer and Morty were headed for the pick up window when the horrid face of a Garblovian appeared. Summer screamed, a shot ricocheting against a pan with a deep tinny ring.

Rick took a shot with one hand, racing forward to slam the pick up window shut. He ran over to one of the fryers and began pushing on it. Morty went over to help him, pushing it so it ran up against the window. Summer meanwhile was keeping the frontal attackers at bay, shooting with such accuracy that the attack slowed somewhat, aliens only popping up to take a few shots.

All three were gasping for breath, blood pumping adrenaline. Summer looked to Rick.

"What are we going to do?"

Rick shook his head, trying to think fast. There weren't a lot of options right now. Their only two exits were blocked. A vibration went through the fryer in front of the pick up window, causing Rick's back to tingle from where he was pressed up against it alongside Morty. Another vibration came, caused by the aliens hitting at it. That exit wasn't safe.

Rick looked to the front of the store where the aliens were creeping closer despite Summer's shooting.

"I-I gotta think about this, alright, I'll figure it out, we'll be fine," he assured.

Truthfully he had no idea what to do, and he was worried he wouldn't be able to come up with something soon enough. Despair came onto Summer's face and she twisted, aiming at an alien with the gun. This shot hit home and a scream could be heard a few moments later.

"You guys'll be safe, alright," Rick promised, eyes landing on the large freezer which was built in the side of the wall.

He got up and looked at it, seeing that it was slightly ajar. A quick look showed that the locking mechanism would still work and one would only need to shut the door for it to be triggered.

"Morty, come here," Rick demanded, ducking as a shot rang near him.

Morty scrambled over, blood dripping lazily along his forearms from the glass.

"Get in," Rick commanded, holding the door open.

The boy scrambled inside, weakly calling out his sister's name. Rick nodded and turned to where Summer was at, intent on getting the two kids to relative safety. The scene that greeted him though made him realize the futility of his effort. Summer was unconscious on the ground, blood dripping from her head from a hit. The aliens had gotten over. One reached for Rick and he drew a fist back, punching them in the face. The alien slipped back and another tried to shoot him, there was a scream of protest from another alien, knocking the gun in his comrade's hand so the shot went wild.

Rick felt a burst of pain and heat in his side, propelling him backwards. He blindly threw an arm out, catching a hand on a metal bar which did not hold his weight but swung with his momentum. His body was swept along until he lost his hold, slipping to the ground and hitting his head sharply. The last thing he heard was the loud, short clang of a metal door and Morty's scream. Everything went black.

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Hi guys! Thanks to all who are interested in the story and are still reading!

I don't know too much about the inside of a McDonald's.


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